But you and I, Reader, can afford to make no tarriance in Leyden. I
cannot remain with you here till you could see the Rector Magnificus
in his magnificence. I cannot accompany you to the monument of that
rash Baron who set the crown of Bohemia in evil hour upon the Elector
Palatine's unlucky head. I cannot take you to the graves of Boerhaave
and of Scaliger. I cannot go with you into that library of which
Heinsius said, when he was Librarian there, “I no sooner set foot in
it and fasten the door, but I shut out ambition, love, and all those
vices of which idleness is the mother and ignorance the nurse; and in
the very lap of Eternity among so many illustrious souls I take my
seat, with so lofty a spirit that I then pity the great who know
nothing of such happiness.”—_Plerunque in quâ simulac pedem posui,
foribus pessulum abdo, ambitionem autem, amorem, libidinem, &c.
excludo, quorum parens est ignavia, imperitia nutrix; et in ipso
æternitatis gremio, inter tot illustres animas sedem mihi sumo, cum
ingenti quidem animo, ut subinde magnatum me misereat qui felicitatem
hanc ignorant!_ I cannot walk with you round the ramparts, from which
wide circling and well shaded promenade you might look down upon a
large part of the more than two thousand gardens which a century ago
surrounded this most horticultural city of a horticultural province,
the garden, as it was called of Holland, that is of the land of
Gardeners. I cannot even go up the Burgt with you, though it be
pretended that the Hengist of Anglo-Saxon history erected it; nor can
I stop at the entrance of that odd place, for you to admire, (as you
could not but admire,) the Lion of the United Provinces, who stands
there erect and rampant in menacing attitude, grinning horribly a
ghastly smile, his eyes truculent, his tail in full elevation, and in
action correspondent to his motto _Pugno pro Patria_, wielding a drawn
sword in his dreadful right paw.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account